>> brian: after seven years on xm radio, they have suddenly pulled fox news talk on new year's day. many of you are angry, all are writing me and steve and alisyn, everybody else here at fox. so fox news talk, you have to pay the same amount on your satellite channel, nothing changed in terms of you as a subscriber, but you can take action, especially if you like kilmeade and friends which is coming up. steve and denny hastert will be on. send your comments to takes book.com/sirius xm or go to tellxm at fox news radio.com and sound off and let everybody know how you feel. >> steve: it's been a staple for many, many years. got to get it back. >> brian: started with tony snow. >> steve: absolutely. tomorrow on the program, geraldo rivera and judge jeanine pirro, plus she's showing up again, i think. >> alisyn: it's a threat. i'll be back.

>> steve: great. speaker john boehner will be the first to face a major test. we're watching that as we get rolling here. good morning, welcome to "america's newsroom." i'm bill hemmer, here in the new year. >> i'm heather chilled ders. where is martha? bill: she will be here next week. >> i'm filling in for martha. that comes for a rocky start from the speak. bill: do l delayed vote for victims of soup storm sandy punted to the next congress. that affected lawmakers in

the affected area. >> to leave new york, new jersey, thousand of people in this area this holiday season on their own and abandoned was wrung and disgraceful in a lot of ways. to say to a region hirt by a natural disaster and now you have to rebuild yourself and you have to fund the reconstruction, actually adds insult to injury. bill: the critic say, the bill, they're sympathetic to the victims but the aid needs to be paid for. there is other criticism. mike emanuel live on the hill. good morning to you. first on john boehner's leadership. is the in question as a speaker or not? >> reporter: bill, no question it has been a bumpy few weeks for speaker john boehner a a lot of house conservatives did not like the fiscal cliff deal they were forced to vote on new year's day with the threat of the country going over the fiscal cliff. there are new york and new jersey republican who are obviously frustrated

about the sandy relief effort. bottom line, a key california republican says boehner is the man. >> has he been speaker of the whole house, sometimes in fact recognizing the art of the possible is not in his party alone? yes. is there someone going to challenge him? no. i don't expect it. does he have a dilemma, ultimately it isn't working as well as we like to. we're not able to message, oh by the way we're not united in the most important things republicans stand for which is restraining the growth of government? yeah. that's a problem and under his leadership and i hope with eric can't tore and others we can fix it. >> reporter: there are clearly challenges ahead. we expect the vote to go forward four hours from now. we'll find out if there is a serious challenge to john boehner's leadership. bill: we'll be watching that. what about sandy and this controversy, mike? critics say the bill is loaded up with pork that has nothing to do with the victims? >> reporter: that's right.

there were significant concerns about some of the items in the senate-passed bill. a lot of people very sympathetic to the people of new york and new jersey. here are some items that were troubling to some folks on capitol hill. $150 million to alaskan fisheries. 15 doll million to nasa. 15 million to repair d.c. roofs. $50 poll for subsidies for planting trees. a key new york house republican says, well, the money will go to the right purposes. take a listen. >> one thing we can put to rest right now. there are no earmarks, no pork in there as being reported today. everything was, all that is out. everything in that bill relates daectly to sandy and is directly related to superstorm. so the stories going around things may have been in the senate bill are not in the house bill. >> reporter: there was a bumpy public relations effort for the speaker and house leadership with new york and new jersey leaders,

bottom line they say they want to do it right. they will vote tomorrow on getting some money to the metropolitan area there in new york. then on january 15th, the first full legislative day of the new congress, they say they will vote on the rest without the pork, bill. bill: peter king has been on the air for 24 hours. and yesterday on this show blasted his fellow republicans. we'll listen for more. mike emanuel thanks, leading the coverage on the hill which will have a lot of action today. heather: there has been a lot of action the past couple days. we're getting new reaction to the delayed sandy vote from what matters most. this family has been living in a hotel room since the super storm destroyed everything they own. the long island family says, they're running out of options. >> my message to all my elected officials is, you made a promise. you gave your word you would help us. and i'm asking you to help us. i'm here trying to get back to my home. i have a child that asks me

on a daily basis, when can i go home and i can't, looking at him say we're almost there when we're not. we just actually finished completing at the end of august from irene. now we have to do this again. heather: as you heard her say, this is the second major storm the family has dealt with. fema has been paying for the hotel room but so far denied requests for more funding. the family says they will continue to petition the insurance company for more money to begin repairs again. now to a fox news alert. an urgent warning from moody's investors service. the u.s. now at risk of losing its aaa credit rating after the fiscal cliff deal failed to address the country's ballooning deficit. as we get brand new weekly unemployment claims. jobless applications rising 10,000 to 372,000.

stuart varney is host of "varney & company" on the fox business network and he joins us now with a little more insight. hi, stu. >> heather if you thought everything was fine and dandy because we got past the fiscal cliff think again. i have three items right off the bat. number one, we got a new warning of the possible downgrade of america's financial standing, our financial standing in the world. we got a downgrade warning from mood is did. apparently we have not properly addressed our debt situation in the fiscal cliff deal. item two, everybody today who works are paying a more in tax. that is a whole chunk of money taken out of the private sector of the economy. it will slow the economy. as you pointed out, heather, item 3 a pretty grim report on new jobless claims. the number going straight back up again to 372,000. that is a very high number and it reverses a small

downtrend that we had seen in the previous couple of weeks. so you add it all up together, heather, you do not have a pretty strong start to the economy for the new year. heather: stuart, perhaps, not so surprising this new poll shows alarming number of people who say, our best years, they're behind us. what do you think? >> this is a real surprise and a it is a poll that comes from gallup. half the people, 50% of the those polled, say america's best years were in the past, not in the future. that is exactly the opposite of the way america has always felt about the future. this is optimistic country. normally people think, things will get better in the future. this time around not so. you have to say it. there's an element of pessimism and anxiety in the air that maybe we're not going in the right direction. it is a very poor start to 2013, heather. heather: thank you very much, stu. we appreciate it. stuart varney. thank you. bill: on that cheery note,

happy new year. secretary of state hillary clinton is out of the hospital after undergoing treatment for a blood clot in her head. doctors in new york city saying they're confident she will make a full recovery. a spokesman says that secretary clinton eager to get back to work. however, there is no far of a date society for her to return to the state department. clinton was in the hospital since sunday where doctors gave her blood thinners to help dissolve the blood clot. a lot of concerns about her health, wishing her the very west. heather: hopefully she is doing better. bill: what a couple years she has had. heather: she is a hard worker. bill: who has flown more than she to more hot spots. our best to her and her family. eight minutes past. those are some of the stories we're working on a thursday edition. bracing for the new health care law. there are major changes for companies across the country. big companies and small companies. we'll tell you what is coming up first on that. heather: this fiscal cliff

deal, or crony capitalism gone wild? the president said it was supposed to make the wealthy pay for their fair share but major industries with friends in the white house may be very happy about that fiscal cliff deal. we'll explain. bill: new outrage from the families of the victims in colorado's movie theater massacre. the invitation they call, absolutely, downright disgusting offer. >> i don't care how they refurbishing it and redesigned it, it is still where our children were gunned down and murdered. it is a scene of carnage. [ male announcer ] there are only so many foods that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too.

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heather: welcome back. president obama back in hawaii vacationing with his family. he arrived there yesterday before the bill to the avoid the fiscal cliff was delivered to the white house. so the president signed the deal into law using a device called an auto pen. that is a machine that basically produces a copy of the president's signature. it is the third time that president obama has used the device and it has been used in previous administrations. bill? bill: who needs an oval office? technology. heather: yeah. bill: companies big and small now appraising for the new health care law. this is significant. major provisions take effect on the first day of 2014 with regard to obamacare. already there are emboyers now scrambling to feel the effects of the change and adjusting as we speak.

matt mccall, penn financial group, llc, and charles payne. fox business network. welcome to you. what are companies doing now? >> companies are doing variety of things. big companies are trying to shift full-time workers into part-time workers. some of that has gotten serious negative backlash. the most infamous case if you will, darden, owners of red lobster and olive garden it. was interesting --. bill: what did they do? >> in a recent filing, the media, not the public reaction but the media's handling of moving workers from full time to part time that actually hurt their business. in other words the need yaw saying darden doesn't have a heart. red lobster doesn't like people, that kind of thing. they actually had to put a freeze on it. there is no doubt these kind of businesses will not absorb this without taking a lot of full-time workers moving them to part-time. employees will have to work less than 30 hours and be

exempt. bill: matt, what are you hearing? >> just a follow-up on that, keep in mind, darden, for example, they're not giving these employees now health care but they will be forced to with the law. so they're preparing in advance many companies saying listen, you will still have the job. you will not have health care because you wouldn't have in the past but working less due to what the government is imposing on it. darden shouldn't get the backlash they are. a lot of companies we're talking to are getting ready to lay people off. you're preparing for higher expenses the next 12 months. another thing you're going to see not as much, cost of goods and services of these companies will be increased. they need to make up for the higher expenses for the health care law passed on to you and i sitting here. bill: i talked to an accountant. i'm laying off 20 people because of the deal on the fiscal cliff, because the deal on the fiscal cliff includes all the taxes on obamacare. >> small businesses, really, are in the cross-hairs here. they're in a lot of trouble. you know, it will, you would

be real reluctant to grow your people more than 50 employees because of all the different laws, taxes and fiscal cliff, obamacare and things like that. i think one of the big problems, a lot of people don't realize, a lot of workers don't end up on medicaid and medicaid. that means up to 11 million workers end up on medicaid over the course of the next year or so. states can't afford that. first of all not the greatest of insurance policies if you will, but states imagine, 11 million more people on medicaid and states --. bill: huge burden. big price on that. obamacare taxes are in place now, matt, but the law doesn't go into effect for another year. >> but we're --. bill: when has this ever happened before? >> well, seeing changes already. that is kind of scary to me. we're 12 months out. what happenone year from now a lot of companies are not prepared? maybe they have 70 employees. a entrepreneur grew a business. not a real businessman. an entrepreneur.

suddenly realizes next year, look at costs going through the roof. what am i going to do? it will have to be immediate lay people off or shut the doors. >> to matt's point, say you have 80 employees and name of your shop is joe's automotive. you may see them break up. it will be joe's automotive and aunt sally's automotive. it will be the same business. bill: why is that? >> somehow one business will have 35 employees and the other business, in other words they both find a way to break it down you're less than 50 employee threshold. i've actually seen that already. bill: what you both are saying companies are finding a way to stay profitable in a new environment that they have not worked in before? >> this country is built on entrepeneurship and capitalism. suddenly your companies grows to the 50 threshold. you should be happy, popping champagne. giving employees bonus. when you get the 50 threshold, you pay more to

the government. why go over the threshold because you will make less money. >> if you don't cover people up to $3,000 but $15,000 for premium on a family. a lot of businesses it is no-brainer. simply don't offer health care insurance. we don't know what that ultimately will mean for the general public. we know free health care isn't free. everyone watching this show will bear, probably a greater burden, economic burden for this than people even realize. bill: let me read something in the "wall street journal" employers will do rigorous scenario planning and they're going to be doing it deep in a bunker because of the sensitivity of the issue. >> that gets back to the darden. bill: they don't want to tick oaf their employees, to make sure they have good working environment. >> papa john's, darden, came out, it is only mark business sense we would try to make adjustments. i never seen company came out, darden did this, clarence otis, ceo of darden, great friend of the obama

administration. this was not split at at all. for company say, media, deliberately drove down other business because we made a business decision, think about that for a minute, bill. of course you will go deep in a bunker, and try as best as possible not to talk about these things. if you're demonized for making a business decision foisted upon you by the federal government. >> what about employees too? employees talk around the watercooler. you know what, we may not have health care. then what happens? you stop working hard, getting a little lazy, that ends up hurting business even more. a lot of backlash and he negativity. bill: we'll rely on you to see how the changes are implemented and how it affects jobs in america. >> we'll all be learning. bill: thank you, matt. heather, what is next? heather: coming up al gore's current tv, it just sold for a bucketload of money. it is the buyer that has people raising eyebrows. we'll tell you who picked it

up. bill: big night in the superstorm. did you see this in college bowl action? >> bridgewater wants to make them pay immediately. and he does!. bill: the cardinals delivering an upset to a sec powerhouse. they beat the third-ranged florida gators. 34 players from louisville are from florida. they face many of the gators in high school. final score, 33-23, as bowl season rolls on. monday night could be the most watched football game at the college level ever. back after this.

bill: here is one couple awfully lucky this morning. powerful wind blowing through their town in oregon. the winds toppling a huge tree in the backyard of tiffany and her husband. the tree luckily just

missing their home. >> last night i was actually worried about the tree falling. not this tree, the dead trees not the live tree. falling on our roof or something last night because we're right at the edge of the trees but luckily it didn't. bill: good size on the tree. cordes and her husband are having a specialist determine whether they need to reany other trees for the next time the wind blow yet again. heather: the pan-arab news channel, al jazeera, buying al gore's current tv extending its reach in the u.s. and making the former vice president possibly a nice chunk of change. to ask about that very thing is cheryl casone with the fox business network. thanks so much for joining us. >> good morning. heather: this increases their viewership almost nine fold to about 0 million viewers. >> reporter: 40 million viewers. al-jazzera did not disclose the amount they paid for current tv. reports say $500 million.

that would give $100 million to al gore directly. first things issue, first and foremost time warner cable say they're dumping, they don't want al jazeera america. that is what they want to call the new cable channel. they will take it from current tv to al. heather: sear america. we're removing the service as possible. harsh statement from time warner cable. that is the nation's largest cable company. dynamics of the deal, my first question as business person will there be fec issue, regulatory issue. i talked to person who says they do not expect that to happen. this is not a broadcast license transfer. this is just a change of programing an change of content. cable companies that do carry current right now, could come in as time warner appears to have done and will say, i do not want to carry al-jazzera america. that would be in their right. heather: i also understand there are no rules prohibiting foreign ownership of a cable channel?

>> right, i admit i do sometimes watch bbc america. we might have all tuned in wins or twice. this may not be a government issue. could somebody in washington make it a government issue. there is a lot of backlash against al jazeera's programing. one of the reasons they made the business decision, their english website, 40% of the their traffic is coming from the united states. they have nearly five million must preliminaries in this country now living here. they will be increasing their bureaus. they will open another five to 10 bureaus in their country, hiring more journalists in this country. at this point they say they will have half the content of al jazeera america be u.s. based news. it will be interesting to see how it plays out the but the story won't go away. heather: that is a business decision, why they did it, what about the timing? was there a specific reason the timing of the deal went through? any effort to avoid all the new taxes? >> absolutely. you want to get this deal closed by december 31st,

2012, to avoid the higher taxes on the sale. that is exactly what they wanted to do and looks like they made that happen. you don't want to pay uncle sam. people were selling their second homes trying to get the deals closed before december 31st. al gore making the same decision with his timing of selling current tv to al-jazzera. heather: we know what time warner says. yanking it. >> they're out. heather: thank you so much, cheryl. we appreciate it. bill? bill: heather in a moment the fight over private privacy and safety of legal gun owners. another newspaper requesting information those with a gun permit of those that live in their town. did the city give in? heather: a hard landing sparking a fire inside a small plane. video of the fast-acting the emergency crew and the condition of the passengers. we'll have that just ahead. [ ryon ] eating shrimp at red lobster

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bill: there are significant developments now in the showdown over the privacy of gun law-abiding owners.

officials in the state of new york refusing a request to release the names and addresses of the residents in their town with pistol permits after a newspaper published the gun owner's personal information online. david lee miller is live in putnam county. that is in new york, state of new york, the town of carmel. who is publishing this information now, david lee? good morning there? >> reporter: good morning, bill. we're talking about a suburban new york newspaper owned by gannett called "the journal news". this controversy created so much of a stir, the paper, fearing for the safety of its staff has hired armed security guards. now the controversy began last month when "the journal news" under freedom of information act requested from three counties the names and addresses of residents with pistol permits. two counties complied. one county has said no. that is putnam county. and that's the county from which i'm speaking to you

right now. putnam county says to release this information would endanger residents. the county executive says, specifically at risk would be the many current and retired law enforcement officers who live within the county. listen. >> we're hearing from retired police officers who have taken their criminals and put them into jail and they're afraid of the retribution. we have active law enforcement officers who do not want their names and addresses obviously because it compromises their family's safety. >> reporter: and interestingly the county executive says residents who do not have pistol permits would also be at risk because now the bad guys would be able to find out who they are and where they live. bill? bill: that is interesting twist. what is the newspaper saying about this, david lee? >> reporter: well, janet hasen, the publisher and president of the newspaper, issued a statement.

and said, i will read it to you now, quote. we believe the law is clear this public information and residents of putnam county are entitled to see it. she went on to say we're troubled that county officials have apparently switched their position since we first requested the information. and now the executive director of the new york state committee on open government, this is a state agency, has come out to essentially echo the position of the paper and says that the information requested must be released. listen. >> every unit of government, everyone of is supposed to many could ply with the law and in this instance there's a provision, actually in the new york state penal law which for years has required the disclosure of the name and address of any licensee who can carry or own or dispose of a firearm. >> reporter: during the past few years "the journal news" has had a very difficult time. in 2011, bill, they had to cut about 12 1/2% of its

staff. the circulation between 2005 and 2010 dropped about 38%. the question on the minds of many, what will the newspaper do next if in fact putnam county, which will have a news conference in this room in a few hours, refuses to release the information? will the newspaper move onto the next step and that will likely be going to court. bill: all good questions there. maybe we'll get answers during that press conference. david lee, thank you. upstate new york. heather has more on this. heather: let's bring in larry pratt, executive director gun owners of america and lori haas, coalition to stop gun violence and beginnians for responsible gun laws. thank you both for joining us. >> thank you for having me. heather: i will start with a civil question. you both heard the story, david lee miller reporting it there for us. should putnam county be forced to release these names, larry? >> well, we're very much opposed to that. we don't see the public's interest in this.

it is not as if these people have committed a crime. we do publish the names of sex offenders because they did commit a crime. but we shouldn't be viewing people who have bought a gun and have gotten a permit as in the case of new york as having committed a crime. this was done in virginia some years ago and the backlash was so considerable that law was passed prohibiting the publication of this kind of information. doesn't mean that somebody couldn't find out about a particular individual but to just make it so that any stalker can find out where his ex has ended up and what her new address might be, that is really dangerous. heather: where her address is and whether or not she has a gun to protect herself. lori, what do you think?. >> well i think this discussion and debate is up to new yorkers and new york state law and for those in new york to figure it out but it is really unnecessary distraction to the real issue at hand and that is the gun violence that

increases in this country when we have porous laws like no background checks on unregulated sales. we need to do a better job with the task at hand and that is to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. new york has a wonderful process. new york has a licensing and registration process that is thorough. and obviously works. heather: laurie, part of the process you're speaking of which is the bigger picture of this topic, should those names be published in a newspaper? >> you know i don't necessarily personally have a problem with the names being published. maybe some of the persons who registered and got licensed do. i'm kind of confused at the, mr. pratt, and the gun lobby for having a problem with gun owners being, you know, put in the public purview, when in fact they constantly argue that gun ownership is safe. these are licensed people. they have been through a process and they're law-abiding citizens. so owning a gun should make

them safe. i don't understand what the publication is, would make them, put them in danger. heather: larry, perhaps, larry you can explain, how would that put them in danger? >> well, perhaps more specifically the people in danger are the neighbors who don't show up on the list who evidently don't have a gun, for a home invader. that is a much safer target on that the person who has a gun listed at his house. certainly if the gun owner doesn't have a carry permit and he is away from the house in new york, then, a criminal would know that there is probably a gun inside that he can brick in, if no one is there. he is pretty safe. but otherwise the neighbor with no gun is very much at risk. so this hasn't done any public service. put a lot of people at risk. and i wonder if the paper is going to pay for the damages that might occur when somebody is harmed because of what this newspaper has done? heather: that is what i was

wondering. regardless, take both scenarios, you have a gun or don't have a gun. you're on this list. say something happens where someone decides to break into your home to steal a gun because they know know you have one there and they decide to break into your home and they now know there is no gun to protect yourself. there is incident in the home and something happens or someone is hurt or perhaps killed, who is held liable? the county that released name, are they held liable? newspaper for releasing names to begin with. it creates a trickle down effect as well. >> that's right. the county might claim sovereign -- sovereign immunity, legal fiction politicians created to protect themselves against consequences of their own actions but the newspaper doesn't have that. that might make the newspaper particularly vulnerable as i think they should be. i don't think they considered that when they did it. i'm not really sure what led them to do it. maybe the conviction that gun oners are evil people

and we need to expose them for the terrible people that they are. there certainly doesn't seem to be any logical reason for having done. and i hope that there is no reason to sue the paper. but if god forbid something to happen, i hope they lose it all. heather: lori, we finally, then we'll have another topic we'll move to, what about the rights of private citizens? >> i understand the right of citizens to own guns. in the state of new york they're licensed and they're registered. they knew this when they purchased the gun this was in fact public information. it has always been public information in the state of new york. so to suddenly have a problem with it being public information i'm a bit confused at the, the issue at hand whereas i think again i would like to say it is a distraction to the real issue at hand. how are people dangerous and

felons getting guns i will really, -- illegally. >> they will not be on that list. heather: and perhaps knowing that it is public information and knowing it will be placered all over a newspaper publicly are two different things. want to move to this though. there is also new controversy over a "des moines register" column that calls for violence against the nra and republican leaders and advocating, quote, radical measures to end gun violence. has this conversation simply gone off the rails? i want to pull up a couple of quotes from this opinion piece as it appeared. the person that wrote it. the person name is david krall i'm sorry, donald kaul. he said, declare the nra a terrorist organization and make membership illegal. hey, we did it to the communist party and nra has led to the deaths of more of us than american commies ever did. i would raise the

organization headquarters and salt the earth but that is option a.m. if some people refuse to give up the guns, that prying the gun. >> their cold dead hands, works for me. larry. >> that was so over the top when i had to laugh, i read that before. it is still funny that somebody is foaming at the mouth, that an editor didn't catch that before it was published. they're exposing themselves from looney tunes they are if they really think that way? that is so amazing when you look at those who own firearms legally in this country, they're the choir boys of our society. these are the men and women who do not commit crime. those who are licensed to carry, such as those in new york, commit many fewer crimes than police do. so this is just amazing. >> i want to bring in lori

here. he said throw out the second amendment. i'm paraphrasing. called for violence specifically against mitch mcconnell and john boehner, suggested tying them to the back of a vehicle and dragging them through the streets. >> i don't condone violence any way, shape or form, regardless who is doing the calling for that violence and it is unnecessary i would not call the nra a terrorist organization. i would call them a greedy organization. they promote policies that sell more guns and that's the business they're in. they want to sell more guns. they want to make more money. and they are frankly, you know, don't seem to care about the policies that lead to more deaths in this country. those states with better gun laws have fewer deaths and those states with the weakest gun laws have the most gun deaths. there is responsible gun ownership and there is a way to do responsible gun laws like new york has done with licensing and registration and i would like to call for more background checks. we want a background checks on gun sales.

three out of four nra members want that. 82% of the gun owners want that. they know themselves. thank you very much. heather: a topic we can continue to talk about and the debate continues. larry, lori, thanks so much. bill: we'll see whether congest gets to the new session. a new report raising concerns over the fiscal cliff deal. how some of president obama's richest supporters are catching a big take break, did you hear? what may be the next item on the administration's agenda? potential showdown over immigration reform. is washington ready for that? [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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bill: there's a new report pointing to tax breaks in the budget deal you probably did not hear about. these were largely backed by democratic senators in committee, months ago. hollywood gets $248 million to encourage film and tv production here in the u.s. 331 million to railroad operators maintaining the tracks. puerto rico and u.s.

virgin islands, 222 million refund forum produced there and shipped here. 59 million to algae growers to encourage the production of biofuels. you got it. you paid for it. tennessee republican senator bob corker voted yes on the cliff deal. how are you doing, senator. good morning to you. >> bill, good morning to you, sir. bill: a lot of head shaking and head-scratching on that. how were you able to hold your nose and vote yes on that, sir. >> those are what it is worth, and current law, 19 provisions were dropped. all those things you mentioned have been law for some time in our country. this is a terrible vote to have to take. when you go down to the floor and run flow the votes and vote no. i look at defining votes and being decided vote myself. the question are we better with this bill passing or would we have been better what was going to be law if it didn't? and on that basis i don't

think it is any question we're better off with what passed. now we have this next quarter, as i was talking to you off air about. we have the next quarter to see if we can really do those things to really save our country by putting in place real entitlement reforms prior to the debt ceiling debate. bill: i will give you a your chance on that. 13 democrats voted yes on provisions i ticked off. six republicans voted in favor. five other republicans voted against it going through. they call it corporate welfare. i don't think you disagree with that. with regard to where things are right now, what is your strongest hand with 60-days of debate before this debt ceiling comes up? >> our strongest hand are three things. and that is the debt ceiling. the continuing resolution and the sequester and, we need to absolutely use those to do those things, as i mentioned, bill, to save our country. back to the tax provisions. that is why we should never have done this in the back

room. we would have come out in my opinion with a much better product on the senate floor and we should never let this happen again where a deal like this is negotiated in the back room. i was livid, bill, with the better off passingbe made. it than having a $5 trillion tax increase? yes. do we need to get rid of all the corporate welfare? absolutely. there is in our code, bill, $1.2 trillion in each year, spending in another name and that is why we need tax reform to do away with those loopholes and lower everybody's tax rates. but look, that's behind us. we have sort of a rite of passage now to really looking at enlightment reform. people like you in the media can really help with this because if you remember the president said he offered boehner 1 trillion dollars in tax reduction, in spending reductions. i don't think anybody in america has ever seen that list in any kind of specific

form. i think on a daily basis, we should be calling this president out and getting him to produce this list of cuts that he talked about. bill: you talked about in the media. we don't have a vote. you're a sitting member of the senate. frame it this way for me. >> okay. bill: you say we have a fundamental opportunity, you have an opportunity now to fundamentally change the way america works. >> we do. we do. bill: people have been talking that for years. you can go back to the beginning of this term, the first term for president obama when the economy was in at that timers and they have been waiting for something to change. all they see in the end is that debt clock going higher and higher. while everybody was celebrating the new year, it went to 16.4 trillion. with that as your best hand to play, how can you change it, senator? >> no. our best hand to play is during this quarter with all three of these lining up. i have offered bill specific

legislation, one trillion dollars to entitlement reforms over the next 10 years which ends up being 20 trillion over time. i offered a very specific bill on the senate floor to say, for every dollar ever entitlement reforms we'll raise the debt ceiling one dollar. that is the kind of thing will save our country. what i hope, bill, people on both sides of the aisle will join in, especially republicans. candidly, i hope republicans will join with me saying they're not going to vote for a debt ceiling increase without true entitlement reform which again is the only thing that will save this great nation right now. bill: senator, thank you. we'll talk to you next week, okay? >> appreciate it. thank you, sir. bill: bob corker on the hill. >> coming up new outrage to tell you about following the movie theater massacre in a record can, colorado. -- aurora, colorado, why the inat this timetation to the move

bill: there were some drama at a vegas airport. hard landing there. you see the small plane slamming the tarmac, skidding off the runway and catching fire. the crews that responded sprayed that fire retardant on the flame. it is deep and purple there. everybody is okay. but that plane was destroyed, entirely gutted by the flames there outside vegas. heather: new backlash from the movie theater massacre in aurora, colorado. victims or families of victims now speaking out saying that they're angry that the theater invited them to a remembrance there as part of its reopening. tammy vigil has the story from fox affiliate, kdvr. >> that was a killing field. >> reporter: the century aurora theater where loved ones laid dead on the floor more than 15 hours including

sandy phillips daughter, jessica gawhi. they are inviting them back. >> i don't care how they refurbished it and redesigned it. it is still where our children were gunned down and murdered. it is a scene of carnage. >> reporter: the invitation came through the e-mail where the colorado organization for victim assistance says cinemark would like to invite you and a guest to a special evening of remembrance. we understand this may be a difficult time for you. counselors will be available at the theater. >> there is absolutely no regard for our feelings and, we keep getting battered and bruised by the very people that should be reaching out to us and carrying for us. >> reporter: phillips says the invitation was so upsetting the group wrote the letter to cinemark rejecting the offer. the letter says, our family members will never be on this earth with us again and a movie ticket and some

token words for people who didn't care enough to reach out to us nor respond when we reached out to them to talk is appalling. we would give anything to wipe the carnage of their night out of our mind's eye. >> we'll have to face a long and lengthy and painful trial. then to have additional pain and suffering put upon us like this is just not okay. heather: that was tammy vigil, reporting from fox affiliate kdvr. bill: there is a lot of pain out there still and for good reason. there's a big change for house speaker and how he plans to deal with the president in the future. what he is no longer willing to do. bret baier has details on that. heather: find out what that is. a new battle over immigration and the president's push to allow certain young illegals to stay in the u.s. why it is believed this congress might be ready to play ball. we're live at the white house. stay with us.

bill: here we go, fresh new hours, fox news alert now a new showdown shaping up in washington after a difficult and sometimes politically bloody battle over the fiscal cliff, the white house now has plans for a more controversial issue that being immigration reform. sticky points on this. brand-new hour starts right now in "america's newsroom." i'm bill hemmer. martha is out. hi, heather. heather: good to be here. i'm heather childress in for call r-frplt in jun martha maccallum. in june they issued an order allowing young immigrants to stay in the country. this time the white house believes congress will be more likely to play ball in light of the other difficult battles ahead, including of course raising the debt ceiling and resolving delayed spending

cuts. ed henry joins us from the white house. ed how quickly do we think the president will move on this? >> reporter: we think quick enough that it will be in the next few weeks. he knows full well that a reelected president can become a lame duck president pretty quickly. as you mentioned all of the battles that are brewing here in washington they know they have to get going. in the weeks ahead after the inaugural they will move forward on some sort of immigration reform ledg relegislation. he had the latino vote won by an overwhelming margin over mitt romney and he made this pledge at his first news conference after getting elected. >> we need to seize the moment. and my expectation is that we get a bill introduced and we begin the process in congress,

very soon after my inauguration, and in fact some conversations i think are already beginning to take place among singapores and congressmen and my staff about what would this look like. >> reporter: important to remember we've heard this from this president before back in the 2008 campaign. he pledged to get immigration reform done not by the end of his first term but by the end of his first year in office. that obviously did not happen but the white house privately believes they've got a much different political climate now, they think they have a better shot of getting this done. heather: we've all heard the phrase, deja vu all over again. is that the key that you just mentioned this time around to make the different? >> reporter: the difference is that they know they will have some republican buy in if they will make this a bipartisan effort. there are key elements to a deal that they talk about. one would of course be coming up with provisions in here that have stronger border security. that is key for republican buy

in. also penalties for companies that purposely hire undocumented workers. they are also talking about a pathway for legal status only after people who were here illegally pay back taxes and possible finest, also learning english a key to getting a deal as well. you mentioned the d.r.e.a.m. act there had been partisan efforts on capitol hill, marco rubio work on that. they were fruit frustrated that the president moved unilaterally. there is hope they will work together on this now. heather: thank you,ed. bill: the administration making some moves on that front president obama with an executive order making it easier for illegal immigrants to get permanent residency if they have immediate relatives who are citizens here. starting in march illegals with an american spouse, child or parent can apply for a visa without leaving the u.s. that change could affect as many

as a million of the estimated 11 million illegals living here today. heather: and bill to give you just a little more context on illegal immigration in the u.s. back in 2007 the number of unauthorized immigrants peaked at 12 million. by 2011 the number of illegal immigrants in the country was estimated to be just over 11 million. that same year ice deported almost 400,000 illegals, the most in that agency's history. bill: so your fiscal cliff showdown reportedly leaving the house speaker, pushing for a new change in the new year. he says no more one-on-one negotiations with the president. the speaker facing a vote later this afternoon on whether or not he remains the speaker after a rocky start to the new year. bret baier anchor of special report with me on this. how you doing? >> reporter: bill, good morning. bill: good morning to you. no shortage of topics here. first, yes or no does boehner

retain the speakership do you believe. >> reporter: yes, the going bet is that he retains the speaker shift. it could get diceee. there are reportedly some 25 members who have reservations about speaker boehner, only 17 of them would be needed to vote against him to make it to a second ballot, which hasn't happened in decades, and that could cause real problems. but the going bet is that he will have the votes when all comes around at about 1:00, and we should know that he's retained the speakership at about 1:45 this afternoon. bill: let's go on that assumption and address the report that came out today. you know, john boehner has tried to strike this relationship with president obama for years now, in fits and starts, it comes and it goes. but now this report that he says he's done going one-on-one with the president. what are you hearing about this? what do you make a of it? >> reporter: i think it's a signal to his casin saudi to

sacaucus that this was a one-time deal. after all the healthcare become and forth and the uproar, you'll remember nancy pelosi saying, you know, we'll see what is in the bill after we pass it and republicans just outraged with the process after healthcare, that really led to the surge that got so many republicans in office. a lot of people up on the hill on the republican side of the upset with the process, about how this all came to be. and this fiscal cliff negotiating behind closed doors and then pushing it through at the last minute, out the door went the three-day look at a bill and the legislative language, and it was all rushed. i think the signal was to say, we're going back to a regular diet, we're going back to regular order. and speaker boehner saying, this is what i pledged to you in 2013.

bill: i think the "wall street journal" has a must-read story this morning about how mitch mcconnell called joe biden and said, does anyone down there know how to cut a deal, and apparently those two engaged and pushed this deal forward on the 31st of december. with regard to sandy, what is your take on whether or not the criticism is warranted directed at speaker boehner, or could you turn it around and wonder where are house democrats on this deal, wrist the president, frankly? he's flown back to hawaii on the sandy restoration bill to help some of the victims and critics came out and said hey, man this bill is loaded with a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with the folks in connecticut, new jersey or new york. >> reporter: i think there are people out there on capitol hill that are split on this. there is a lot of emotion behind this. obviously governor christie expressed that as did members on both sides of the aisle from the new york and new jersey delegation. a lot of emotion came out. later in the day you started to

hear some concerns about the senate bill that actually got through, and as you mentioned, the list of pork that didn't have to do with hurricane sandy, and also the process that, you know, pushing it through, not really looking at it, getting it through, and just passing it. so, in retrospect there are some people up there saying, listen, maybe we should do this in tranches, get the emergency funding for the first year or two, the 9 billion which is what they are probably going to do on friday and get that fast, and then look at the rest of the money in pieces. i think boehner is going to come out better this the long run i guess is what i'm saying, bill. bill: ten years ago this would have gone right through. it's a different time now. and 60 billion has to be paid for somehow. the commuter jet took back off for honolulu the other day, now you've got lawmakers trying to

figure out, we can do this but you're going to have to cut somewhere, otherwise we're just adding to the 1* 1* the 16..4 krill ar16..4 trillion. >> reporter: there are people who say we need to do this, and others say we need to look at bills to make sure they are not putting through a lot of pork spending. bill: we'll see you at 6:00, okay. >> reporter: yeah. bill: plenty to cover later tonight. heather: how much does that jet to hawaii cost? just wondering. well intense fighting raging in syria around a strategic air base in the country's north. take a look. [sound of gunfire] heather: you're looking at amateur video said to be of the attack. we cannot confirm the images, but rebels have been attacking airports and military airfields

trying to weaken the government's air power, which poses their biggest threat. the escalating violence now raising serious concerns about israel's security. leland vittert is in go land heights, an area between israel and syria. are the rebels making any gains? >> reporter: right now so far there is a lot of bang, bang, that's what we are seeing in the video the rebels are posting online. not a lot of strategic games. the rebels are tries trying to lay siege to three to four regime air bases in the north that are used to bomb rebel position and also resupply government troops. these one of the things the rebels are trying to deny. the government forces are hitting back and so far have repullsed these rebels in each one of the instances. the thing to note when you're watching the video is how much better armed the rebels are because they've stolen weapons from the government cases

they've taken over before and who the fighters are is increasing a lot of concern around the middle east and the world. as we're learning the best fighter inside of syria are the al-qaida syndicate groups, al-qaida traders in iraq or the jihaddists, foreign fighters brought in to build an islamic state inside syria. heather. heather: we understand that israel is worried about their border. >> reporter: absolutely for 40 years the syrian israeli border has been very quiet and they counted on bashar al-assad to keep it that way. now there is serious concerns about these militants who are inside syria, particularly the al-qaida syndicate groups, the other jihaddists turning their focus from syria towards israel. israel is now building an immense fence that is about 12 feet small, steel reinforced lattice all along the syrian border to try to get ahead of these by the time the militants may end up winning inside of

syria israel has a much better defense against them infiltrating in here to launch attacks, heather. heather: leland vetter reporting live, thank you so much. bill: the obama administration releasing its plans for new government regulations right before everyone left for the holidays. we've got even a look at them. we have the list coming up in a moment for you. heather: your tax dollars hard at work, heading directly to the egyptian military. ahead the fight to prevent more than a billion american dollars from being sent to an islamist leading government trying to crackdown on personal freedom. bill: also a 15-year-old whose name means light breeze -- heather: that's nice. bill: is suing for the right to keep her name, because her government is fighting to take it away. ♪ they call me the breeze. i keep rolling down the road.

♪ yeah, now, they call me the breeze, i keep rolling down the road. ♪ ♪

bill: some new images now of this oil rig in alaska, a coast guard salvage team has finally been able to reach the rig owned by oil giant shell and says there is no evidence of a fuel leak, and no indication that other debris had been ripped from the ship. the drilling ship ran around tkpwaourg a vicious storm on new year's eve raising concerns that

fuel stored on board the vessel might leak and endanger the wild life in the area. so far though, so good. heather: to egypt now, their new government about to get $213 million in a shipment of weapons courtesy of the american taxpayer. the muslim brotherhood's recent attempt to assume greater control prompting renewed calls to stop sending foreign aid there. among the weapons we're talking about being delivered this month, ten f-16 fighter jets like the one here and 200 tanks. critics worry that the weapons could be used against israel or american interests in the region, and let's not forget, yeah the united states pretty much broke, $16 trillion in debt. jordan seculo is the director of american law and justice and mike baker a former covert cia operations officer and president

of diligence l. l. c. a global intelligence and security firm. thank you both for joining us. i want to pull this up first. let's take a look at the aid given to egypt last year. this was in 2012. we provided 1.5 billion in total aid, military financing, 1.3 billion. so, jordan, this deal was made under a different government with different people, so why is it still happening, and can we do anything to pull the plug? what can we do? >> that is a great question. why is the united states considering sending 20 new f-16's brand-new and two more tanks to the muslim brother hood. that is something we wouldn't even discuss and debate because we made a deal in 2009, 2010 with the hosni mubarak government who their former president hosni mubarak is in jail with his sons and most of his cabinet. the people who made this deal with the united states are in jail, there was a revolution, there is a new constitution, it happens to be islamist in the

muslim brotherhood leading, it's a different place, this is a different agreement. if they want this we have the time here to say, you need to agree to the same peace agreements, you need to prove to us that you're going to commit to what the regime before you did to get this kind of weaponry. it's the muslim brotherhood here, it's a sharia dictatorship is what morsi is trying to start. heather: the first delivery would be january 22nd, say the weapons get there, then what happens to those weapons? is there any guarantee they won't be used against american interests, their own people there in egypt or israel? >> there is no guarantee whatsoever. i give jordan and oeus organization and his organization to beat the trupl and get out ahead on this. there has been no near the attention as it needs. this deal was made with a different government. it is not, and this is the only point we need to discuss, this is not in the u.s. national security best interests to move

forward with this deal. we should pull it back and there is nothing that stops us from pulling back this deal. it's not some improvable treaty agreement. what are we worried about? are we worried about upsetting the muslim brotherhood? try as they might the apologists for the brotherhood cannot make a clear argument that the brotherhood's interests and the u.s. national security interests are in agreement. heather: nothing that could stap it except perhaps time. i mean here it is january 3rd. wee-wee have enough time, jordan to stoeupt. >> stop this. >> i do believe we have enough time. all president obama has to say is no. they are holding billions of dollars back from egypt because of these kind of decisions. two days ago the deputy head of the muslim brotherhood's political party, president morsi's part teeth freedom and justice party, he predicted that israel will krerbgs ase to exist twin a decade. that is the information we are dealing with.

we are dealing with the founders of political islam. they were arrested, a group of muslim brotherhood terror cells in the uae over the weekend trying to help teach people overthrow those governments, our allies in the gulf state. on and on the list goes. they threaten israel, our gulf allies and they could potentially threaten the united states of pherblg. they shouldn't be getting free f-16's from us. >> the muslim brotherhood is patient, a sophisticated organization and they have accomplished what they said they won't do in egypt which is take control of that government. for us to move forward and push and increase their fighter jet supply by 55% increas 55%, increase their tanks is insane. heather: that's a good word to end up. thank you for joining us. bill: a dangerous rescue at a critical time. some try to stage a rescue on a

frozen lake. they became the victims themselves. we'll play this out for you. heather: washington lawmakers may have avoided the fiscal cliff, but every day americans could feel the pinch on a more fiscal hrefrblg the first fiscal paycheck heading your way.

0. heather: welcome back. some wintertime fun turns into a risky rescue operation all caught on tape. apparently a bunch of people they were out sledding in the san bernardino mountains in southern california. you like the sled, bill. bill: oh, yeah. heather: don't do it here. one guy ended up falling through the thin ice on this frozen lake. many of his would be rescuers,

they fell in after him. bill: oh, my. heather: in the end when it was all said and done a dozen people ended up in the frigid water, but they were all rescued and they are all said to be okay. bill: my oh my. someone was standing there with a camera the whole time going, i'm not as dumb as you are. heather: that's what i was wondering the folks standing there with the camera. and they don't move. bill: the plan agreed to in washington with regard to the fiscal cliff could mean big changes in your paycheck starting now. william la jeunesse is on that reading the fine print. good morning, what can the employees expect in the paycheck now. >> reporter: you'll probably see this tomorrow or possibly next week. whether you're rich or not your payroll taxes are going up. how much for a single person earning $38,000 a year yesterday the irs told your employer to withhold about $5,400 a year, that is up $570 or $11 a week. if you earned about $90,000 you'll pay 20 grand or $2,400

more than last year. if you make $185,000 the government is going to withhold 50 ground, that is an increase of 6/thousand dollars. in you make over 400,000 your payroll taxes will increase by $270 a week, or $14,000 a year. now remember, these are payroll taxes, that is the fica deductions on your paycheck, that pays for social security and medicare. this is money you will get back and moreover a lifetime, bill. the average worker will pay $345,000 in fica taxes and they'll get back $417,000 in benefits. so somebody is subsidizing your retirement. bill: taxes are going up on everyone, just about three-quarters of everyone especially the wealthy, though. and the income taxes will also go up there. what does that deal mean for them? >> reporter: well remember the 1% and the president's complaint they didn't pay their fair share. i have a new number for you, it's the .7% club.

the tax foundation has been crunching these numbers and here is how much the federal government is going to squeeze from the less than 1% of the country. out of 143 million tax returns, just 1.1 million, or .7% will pay more than 40% of all federal income taxes. >> we cannot sustain a situation where the top 1% pays 40% of the tax burden while the bottom half roughly on average pay no income taxes. >> reporter: so he's referring to the 60 million americans who have a zero or negative tax liability because they get breaks. the .7% will pay more in basically income taxes and capital gains and dividend taxes as well, that's people earning over $400,000 a year. bill: turn and face the changes because they are right in front of us now. thank you, william. william la jeunesse. heather: is that a song? , turn and face the changes?

i think so. coming up the new battle chasing congress, the debt limit, immigration all up for grabs. how will the next battle play out? a fair & balanced debate on that straight ahead. bill: also, heather, incredible surveillance video of a car striking down a high school student standing in the parking lot. wait until you hear how this ends and who is behind the wheel of that white car. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

heather: welcome back. the obama administration has quietly released its long overdue regulatory agenda, and regulation watchdogs across the spectrum say there is something unpleasant, expensive and burdensome for just about everyone. shan and bream live in washington now. shannon, what do we know about the regulatory agenda the obama administration has planned. >> it's important to note this was released on the friday afternoon before the christmas holidays and the fact is under

the law the president and the administration essentially is required to release regulatory agenda twice a year, april and october, that never happened last year. there were a number of senators and congressmen and women who spoke up saying, the white house is breaking the law by not letting businesses and people out there know what they are cooking up in the regulatory agenda. we did get it that friday before christmas. those who got a chance to look into it estimate it this way, they say the regulations that are on tap for 2013 will have an estimated cost of $123.2 billion, and a paperwork burden of about 13.6 million hours. that is what it will cost in time and effort to have employees go through and make sure that businesses are complying with these regulations. so from the epa to the department of labor and beyond there is something in there for everyone, heather. heather: wow, 123.2 billion, what is the real life impact of these regulations? >> well the fact is dozen of federal agencies have the power to issue these rules. they go through a vetting

process, often they are approved before the people who know will be impacted by them even know anything about them. many of these that we are watching will be with regard to the president's healthcare law. they are far behind on releasing many of the regulations with regard to that law so they will need to know what to do to comply. i talked to legal experts and they say regulators are incredibly powerful. these regulations have civil and criminal penalties built in. they impact what you pay for something, stroll of our working and living conditions. what you can do with your private property, religious freedom, so many places. folks should keep a close eye on it. in the last 90 days this administration has proposed roughly 6,000 new federal regulations, heather. heather: sliding them in. there aren't you a florida gate stpher. >> i'm actually assem tphol, so wa a senino hrerbgs. we won this week. my sympathy with the gators who

didn't win this week. bill: sorry about shannon you've seen plenty of success. days after a contentious battle over a budget deal word that president obama has his sights trained on immigration reform. what about this monica crowley radio talk show host and doug schoen former pollster to president bill clinton. >> happy new year. bill: happy new year to you as well. is this the fight you want to pick next. >> if you're the president you believe you have maximum leverage at this point. any second term president almost mid lee becomes a lame duck. he probably feels like he does have the maximum opportunity here to get the rest of his agenda through which largely includes immigration reform. bill: doug? >> yeah, i think with the victory on the fiscal cliff, where the republican divisions were unrolled we became clear at how weak frankly the republican party is, the president is going

to push an ambitious agenda and i think the republicans having lost the election in large measure because they couldn't get more than 27, 28% of the hispanic vote, bottom line if the president has an expansive agenda including a pathway to citizenship for the 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants here it's going to be tough for the republican toss resist. bill: two pointed questions on this. first the latino vote, 71% in the last election for president obama. 27% for governor mitt romney. monica first point of action. have you a debt ceiling fight that will take up all the oxygen in the room for the next two months, minimum. when is there time for immigration. >> that is a concern that the democrats have that we will have the debt ceiling fight and it will consume most if not all of washington. remember that the president still has the bully pulpit and he said in 2008 by way of criticizing john mccain this a president should than able to walk and chew gum at the same

time. this president has shown the ability to do that, and since he does have such enormous leverage, if he decides to pursue immigration reform i think that he will probably do it in the next couple of months, maybe after the debt ceiling debate. but remember, there is political motivation, bill on both sides in order to get something on immigration done, for the democrats to try to lock in that huge majority of latino vote and for the republicans to try to at least make some headway among latinos. bill: to that point, doug pick up where monica left off there. how do republicans put their fingerprints on immigration reform so that they can gain advantage as well? >> they have to do something they've not done since president bush which is to come out with their own comprehensive immigration reform program that involves both border security, penalties for employers who hire illegals, but offers a real path to citizenship for those 11 to 12 million. if they do that they can then bargain with the white house from a position of strength.

the real problem the republicans have and monica was ill lewding to this. if they sit back on their heels as they did in the fight over the tax reform measure, they are going to be without an agenda, they'll be reactive and they could risk another very serious defeat. so boehne john boehner, mitch mcconnell eastern i can cantor have to be proactive in a way they haven't been, bill. bill: monica address that, then. >> i largely agree with doug. i think there are a lot of areas within which the democrats and republicans can find bipartisan agreement. penal hraoeudzing employers who knowingly hire illegals. enforcing the border first and foremost, a simulation requirements, requiring the folks to learn english to assimilate into the american community. bill: you're arguing that republicans need to embrace this issue. to really go for it. >> i think that that's the consensus anyway among most republicans anyway that

something needs to be done. what is problematic is the last point that doug laid out which is that pot way to citizenship. will a majority of republicans deal with that and if so in some form. bill: great point. douglas word. >> bottom line they have to agree with that. if it's just coercion and the three items that monica cited that are important involve coercive policies it isn't going to work politically, subject stan ta tivoli. they have to embrace a path to citizenship. bill: unless both sides can declare victory on this it won't get through. >> i agree. >> i agree. bill: thank you both. we'll talk to you soon. heather: a new year's eve surprise, two identical twin sisters give birth to two baby boys on the same day. new mothers ashley and amy nelson bringing her bundles of joy into the world just two hours apart in a hospital in

akron, ohio. the sisters say that they hope their boys will be as close as they are. >> we're best friend. >> yeah. >> yep. >> now our babies are going to be best friends. >> hopefully. >> the new moms say they never planned to be pregnant at the same time, it just happened. and the due dates were actually a week apart, so -- bill: they got it working. heather: sometimes you just can't explain how things happen. bill: that you can't. h-plee birthday next year around. just about everyone has grabbed one of these. handy water bottle n. one town its going to cost you a pretty penny the next time you drink up. heather: plus, in beautiful iceland you can check out its water falls, maybe take a dip in it's hot springs but you have to check with the government before you name your child. bill: what? heather: that has sparked the first of a kind legal battle. >> he's sliding.

bill: bill: they are found in your school lunch cup holder nationwide. a platte particular water bottle is illegal, against the law in concord, massachusetts. first town in the country to ban the bottles, those nasty bottles. stores can be fined 50 bucks for violations. apparently they've been working on this for three years. now it's a don deal. you'va don deal. heather: before you name your child you must make sure the name in question is on the list approved by the government, that is the deal. in iceland where like a handful of other countries they have official rules about what a baby can be named. and now there is a 15-year-old girl who is suing the government to keep the name her mother gave her, a name that is not on the approved list. we are told that it is the first time someone has cha challenged

the names committee decision in court. joining us is a former prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. to let the cat out of the bag or the name out of the bag so to speak the name in question, blair, such a horrible name. randy, should she be able to be named blair? >> look, the answer, and the simple answer is, no. in iceland there is a law, there is actually a registry, a names registry. there is a government body that says there are about 17 phupb male name1700 male names that you can use, 1800 female names that you can use. in iceland going back centuries, centuries, the first name is what rules and the last name you take your dad's first name and become his son or daughter. my son john would be john randy's son. that is tradition, that is the way they do things. they want to keep iceland in iceland. there are 32 letters in their allah bet.

you have to have a letter in the alphabet, you can't have a name that gets your kid beaten up. heather: they have allowed other names like elvis, you know, what do you think, jennifer? >> i think what randy failed to point out is that traditions need to change and blair was once an approved name on the list. and moreover the way she got the name is because a priest made the mistake when he was back tieing her an said the name was on the list. now you're taurbg baggy a 15-year-old girl who has had no name for 15 years, wants to use her birth name. this was a name approved, this isn't an offensive name or a problematic name or a name that doesn't use the alphabet from iceland, there is really no reason why she shouldn't be able to use this name because it was a perfectly acceptable name years ago. why should the government be able to pick and choose what names it gives to the population? it just doesn't make any sense, especially because this girl otherwise will have no name and it's certainly in the government's best interests to

make sure that the citizens have names. heather: randy, how do they solve that issue? she is being referred to as girl so far. she is now 15 years old and names in the phone book i understand as well, in iceland they go by the first name, so what do they do about that? >> let's see her name, the name girl in icelandic is actually staka which isn't really that bad. it is not just about her. remember the laws are designed for everyone, which means no one individual can say, listen i want an exception, i want a mulligan, because today it's this name. there is no letter c in the icelandic alphabet. what is going to happen next? now we're going to petition to start to have a new letter added to the icelandic alphabet? >> randy is making a slippery slope argument that doesn't fly here. this law needs to be changed.

as i said this name is not an offensive name, it doesn't defy the alphabet. certainly there can be certain controls over what names are given, i get it, but the government also has to understand that citizens need some freedom, laws are meant to be changed, archaic laws shouldn't say on the book forever, and again this name is a fine name and was once an acceptable name. this girl shouldn't be called girl she should have a proper name. heather: her mom said it seems like a basic human right to be able to name your child what you want especially if it doesn't harm your child in anyway. randy, how does this harm her? randy? >> the bottom line remains, forgive me, because i had it coming in both of my ears, it was like being at home. what happens is, laws sometimes, not everybody is going to be happy, but laws are designed for everyone. i may not be happy driving 55, why not drive 56? 56 becomes 58 becomes 60.

we draw lines. this has been going on for centuries in ice lan, they are following a century's old nordic tradition. it's not hurting anybody, it's keeping -- hey, i'm an iceland der and you'll know i'm an iceland der and i'm digging being an iceland der, if you don't dig it don't live there. heather: this also happens in germany and denmark. by the way. thank you for joining me. who knew? i think bill would be accepted. bill: i've been to iceland, i think they make fantastic sweaters. heather: you need one there, right. bill: especially this time of year. i'm telling you, sister. jenna lee is rolling in the new year. jenna: sweaters? icelandic sweaters. bill: the wool that comes off the sheep and they roll them all over the joint. jenna: i need to see your travel dire raoefplt. bill: yes you do. jenna: call it a hunch. coming up on the show today we

have a historic event for you the 113th coverage gets sworn in today. we have the triumphant return of senator mark kirk. he suffered a catastrophic stroke and he's going to walk up the front steps of the capitol today, that will be quite the scene to take in and we'll have that for you live. we will talk a little bit about the economy, a small business that has really boomed throughout thisee session, bill, is succeeding by making and teaching your dog to fetch your beers out of the refrigerator. a true story. a success story. bill: who is doing that? jenna: a franchise of puppy trainers. bill: send me the website, right. jenna: i will, i'll do it. bill: i'll test it this weekend. see you later. thanks, jenna. they have been con find to their island country for decades but the cuban government is about to change. we'll tell you houfplt. heatheryou how. heather: a school board member

under arrest after thins dent. this surveillance video showing her running down a teenage girl with her car. aig? we said we were going to turn it around, and we did. woman: we're helping joplin, missouri, come back from a devastating tornado. man: and now we're helping the t recover from hurricane sandy. we're a leading global insurance company, based right here in america. we've repaid every dollar america lent us. everything, plus a profit of more than $22 billion. for the american people. thank you, america. helping people recover and rebuild -- that's what we do.

now let's bring on tomorrow.

heather: a school board member facing charges after she was caught on tape apparently hitting a teenager with her car. check out this surveillance video. it's from a walmart parking lot. the girl was reportedly holding that spot for a friend. angela cornett claims the teenager stepped into the path of her car as she pulled into the space. shy says she regrets the incident and wishes nothing but the best for that teenager who by the way was not hurt. bill: right about 7 minutes now before the hour. the cuban government announcing that citizens will soon be able to vacation off that island country. some people waiting until they see the fine print before they believe it.

phil keating is on that story live in phao*epl, appears to be the end of five decades of restriction on travel. is it for praoel, phil? >> reporter: well we're waiting and seeing, that is the position of the u.s. state department, really it's something we all take for granted, the freedom to leave our own country to travel to some other country for vacation. decree law 302 at least legally down in cuba now ends the requirement that all cubans obtain the almost unattainable exit advice a. however cubans still must have a passport, which the government controls and can still deny. but on paper this at least offers some hope. >> i've gone ten years without seeing my father. maybe this way i can get some money together and can go. >> travel should be like it used to be before and how it is around the world in every country. >> reporter: very importantly cubans will still need to get an

entrance visa from the country that they want to visit which is not expected to be simple and essential cubans, scientists, engineers, military-aged youth will still be denied access to leave the island. bill: what is the political motivation or what is the motivation in general behind this move for the castro regime? >> reporter: well, most cuban-americans if not many of them here in south florida all believe this is pure politics, pure economics. the and the ta kwaeuted cuban machine is broke, the people are very, very poor and this allows raul castro to challenge the u.s. to do the same and now allow americans to freely travel to and spend money in cuba. >> the desire of the cuban government is number one to let a great number of cubans leave because there are less mouths to feed and second and probably more important is way to putting pressure on the u.s. government to lift the travel ban.

>> reporter: this migration policy change goes into effect this month. however the u.s. government is still waiting to see exactly whether it's actually real. bill: indeed we will. thank you, phil. phil keating live in miami on that story. heather. heather: still to come shocking evidence revealed at the murder trial of a woman accused of killing her boyfriend. she's changed her story several times, but what detectives found in the washing machine could tell the real story.